NBA | Luguentz Dort signs five-year, $87 million contract with Oklahoma City Thunder

Luguentz Dort and Chris Boucher have become NBA staples. The Quebecers both signed new – and lucrative – contracts with their respective teams, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Toronto Raptors, Thursday evening, when the free agent market opened.

Katherine Harvey Pinard
The Press

The bank broke in Oklahoma City. Luguentz Dort has reportedly agreed to a five-year, $87.5 million deal with the Thunder, his agent Thaddeus Foucher told ESPN. He will therefore pocket an average of 17.5 million per year until 2027, which makes him the highest paid Quebec athlete, all sports combined.

That’s quite a feat for the 23-year-old Montrealer who was never drafted into the NBA…

Instead, Dort signed his first two-way contract with the Thunder within hours of the 2019 draft. Since then, he’s gradually established himself as a mainstay of the team. This year, he had 17.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game in 51 games until a season-ending left shoulder injury in February.

The native of Montreal North went under the knife in March, but should be back for the start of the next campaign. Crossed by The Press in the paddocks of the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit during the Grand Prix of Canada two weeks ago, the athlete claimed to be “growing up in the NBA at the moment”. “Every year, I get better,” he added.

We bet he will progress even more in the coming seasons, when he is one of the key elements in the rebuilding of the Thunder.

Chris Boucher remains with the Raptors

For his part, Chris Boucher would have signed a new agreement of three seasons and 35.25 million with the Raptors, which will bring him an average of 11.75 million per year. He therefore benefits from an annual salary increase of around 5 million compared to his last contract.

At 29, Boucher has just played his fourth campaign with the Toronto team. He had 9.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in 80 games this season.

Also a native of Montreal North, Boucher started basketball late, at the age of 18. Like Dort, he was never drafted. In 2017, after he had played two seasons with the University of Oregon Ducks, the Golden State Warriors gave him a chance. He played a few games with their farm club in Santa Cruz and was part of the roster that won the NBA title in 2018.

The following year, he found himself in the organization of the Raptors, where things are going pretty well. He had his best season in the NBA in 2020-21, averaging 13.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in 60 appearances.

Some good news

There is a lot of good news these days for Quebec basketball. Barely a week ago, Bennedict Mathurin became the highest drafted Quebecer in NBA history. Indiana Pacers made it 6^e picks in total from the drafting session.

Last summer, Boucher and Dort both received the medal of the National Assembly in front of young people from the Montreal-North district. ” I represent [le quartier] complete, Dort had pointed out. We often hear bad things about Montreal North, but there is a lot of talent. »

A few days later, Boucher had met The Press between the walls of the École de technologie supérieure, during its back-to-school basketball camp for boys and girls aged 8 to 16. He said he wanted to be a model for young basketball players in the metropolis.

” I say [aux jeunes] to be fearless, not to be afraid, to have a lot of confidence in them. You come from Montreal, where we will doubt a lot, we will say that you can’t do it, but you need a lot of self-confidence and hard work. Me, I had to work a lot more than the normal people who are in the NBA just because I come from Montreal and there aren’t really any opportunities like that. »

With Boucher, Dort, Khem Birch and now Mathurin, the way is opening up more and more for young Quebecers who aspire to play in the NBA one day.